As usual, the Thursday lunch rush was no joke at Gallo’s Italian Deli in Corona del Mar.

Customers filtered in and out to place their orders at the counter. Regulars made their usual orders, and new customers eyed the options on the menu even as they debated the ingredients in case they wanted to make their own.

Front-end manager Melissa Granoien said the deli counts its customers by the amount of bread they go through in a day. On Thursday they used 130 pieces of bread, about average for an off-season day in the beach town.

During summers and the holiday rush, that number can go up to anywhere from 165 to 185, including the bread used in catering orders, she said.

Gallo’s Italian Deli is celebrating 50 years in its same location on East Coast Highway this year. Owner Eric Hanna said they aren’t sure of the exact date the first sub was served from behind the counter, as his family are the shop’s third owners, the first being the eponymous Joe Gallo.

The story goes that Gallo used to walk up and down Big Corona selling sandwiches out of his backpack before he settled into the brick-and-mortar of today.

Hanna said his family owned the commercial lot just next door to Gallo’s, and the deli’s previous owners didn’t want to see the business shut down when they left Corona del Mar to live in Spain. On the condition that Hanna’s family promised to kept Gallo’s open, the owners agreed to sell it to them in 1994.

They’ve been running it ever since.

Being a restaurateur isn’t Hanna’s main line of work, which is commercial development. Hanna said the reason Gallo’s has managed to endure is partly because of its longtime, generational customer base.

“The grandparents are bringing their kids here and that’s why we’ve been able to stay in Corona del Mar. It’s just because of the community,” he said.

“The guys in the store have been working there for two decades now and they’re very much part of the community’s families too,” said Hanna, who took over ownership from his family in 2002. “They saw the kids when they were small, and now they’re serving their children sandwiches. There’s a good community camaraderie there, and there’s no plans to shut down Gallo’s ever. One day, my son will be running or overseeing it.”

Granoien has been working at Gallo’s since 2016. She said she started working on the register but now does inventory in addition to a number of other responsibilities as the manager. She’s joined by fellow longtime employee Jose Andrade, who is the operations manager and has been at Gallo’s since 1989.

Gallo’s is run by a small but mighty staff, with about five people total. Three are always on-hand manning the sandwich counter. Granoien said she sees at least 20 of their regulars on a daily basis.

“I love the family and the job is really good and my customers are excellent. I grew up on a farm and my grandparents had a restaurant; I used to work there. So, I know how it is with a family-owned business. It works for me. Everyone’s really nice. All my coworkers are really nice. We all get along,” Granoien said.

To celebrate its 50-year anniversary, Gallo’s is doing a 50% off promotion on any sandwich in the store through the end of 2023. Customers are asked to leave a memory that they had at Gallo’s on a review and show it to the employees. It can be a recent memory or go as far back as to the days they were children.

Hanna said a few things have changed since the store opened. Most significantly was its interior, which underwent a lengthy remodel. The shop closed in the fall of 2018, then reopened in April 2021. The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic caused delays and affected supply chains for materials, but the shop managed to reopen to fanfare.

“It just thrived as soon as we opened and it’s still doing it. It’s a wonderful place,” Granoien said cheerfully.

The menu’s also changed a bit.

Hanna said it’s been expanded by six sandwich specials. Granoien said the most popular orders are the Gallos Combo, the Italian Star, the Genoa Special and, for hot sandwiches, the Hot Pickler, the Napoleon and the Meatball.

“For me, [the appeal of Gallo’s] is the nostalgia. I’m a resident of Corona del Mar. I own a home on the same street I grew up on and it’s just a block away from the sandwich shop. I’m raising a family here; I’m a surfer, and the beach has been a part of my life. This is the community I grew up running around, the ‘flower streets’ — it’s cool to see the wheel keep spinning,” Hanna said. “I think for the community and for future generations to come to have a place to go to get your money’s worth … [Gallo’s is] true to its roots. A giant sandwich for a relatively fair price.”